Downtown Vintage Charm | Stafford & Fredericksburg, Virginia Wedding Photographer

I’m currently sitting on a train headed to South Carolina to watch my husband race tonight and using my time to browse some photos I’ve taken recently.  While looking through I was inspired to share some images of my favorite antique store in Downtown Fredericksburg and my journey to becoming an antiques shopper.

Antiques sign going up to The Cottage Room

So growing up whenever I would visit my Gram she would drag me around to different thrift stores and antique stores in Richmond, Virginia.  I swear she just loved to see what she could find and fix up!  I was not the first kid to get dragged around I’ve heard stories that she would drag my mother around when she was young also, although my mother was under strict instructions to touch nothing for fear she was a bull in a chinashop  Anyway back to me, as a teenager I hated it, all I wanted to do was go to the mall like any other kid.  Fast forward 20 years and whenever I have a free day that is nice, with nothing planned what do I find myself doing…… heading to Downtown Fredericksburg to the antique stores!  I have no idea how this happened frankly.  Maybe it was the search for furniture that had some character and substance or my love of shabby chic and Rachel Ashwell.  I have no idea but I have finally learned to see past the flaking finish on a dresser or table and look at the lines of the piece.  I now keep my eyes peeled for furniture with curvy lines and detail in the woodwork and think about how I can transform it with paint or stain.  I have become my Gram.

Model A advertising Fredericksburg Antique Mall

Back to Downtown Fredericksburg, I don’t think there is another place in the world with more antiques stores in a two block radius.  There are big ones and small ones and they sell everything you can think of, I love to just wander around and browse what they have.  I have one particular store that no matter why I’m going downtown if it is before 5pm I always stop in to see what they have.  It is The Cottage Room and it is located inside the Fredericksburg Antique Mall on William Street.  It is up on the second floor and it is a shabby chic paradise.  I love to wander through and take photos because it is just so vintage looking.  I purchased a small dresser that was used as a wash stand many years ago and my favorite piece of furniture in my house my sideboard.  I can’t even tell you how much I love my sideboard, it is so beautiful and the lines of it are gorgeous.  If you look back through my blog to my holiday decor post you can see it there.  It is cream colored and sits under a mirror in my dining room.  So whenever I have time I like to stop in and see what else they have.  I’ve seen a stunning china cabinet and an adorable makeup station in past visits.  On my last trip I saw the cutest little teapots and a really cool vintage birdcage and I had to snap some photos!

Fun vintage items at The Cottage Room

I love to just walk around Downtown Fredericksburg with my camera and shoot whatever catches my eye and this statue always grabs my attention.  I can’t decide if it looks out of place or right at home.

Crazy statue down an alley in Downtown Fredericksburg

Melissa Arlena is a Virginia wedding photographer.  She has a studio in Historic Downtown Fredericksburg where you will often find her puppies hanging out while she works.  She photographs weddings all over Virginia, DC, Maryland and loves destination weddings!  She is a Marine wife and is obsessed with Pinterest and Say Yes to the Dress.  To book her for your engagement session, portraits or your wedding day, please contact her today!